Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1887-01-06
HOW THEY MAKE IT PAY.
Fellows who Act as Go Betweens for
the Politicians aud Keep Up style.


Fellows who Act as Go Betwesns for
the Politicians aud Keep Up style.
Like the lilies of the field, they reap
not. neither do they SOW, but the Fifth
avenue dude in all his glory is not bet.
ter dressed. nor has he more cash in bis
pockets than the city-hall lounger, says
The Neto York Mail and Express. From
the hour at which the veteran Marty
Reese unlocks the iron gates until sun
down, little knots of well dressed men,
with shining silk beavers. their dia-
monds glistening and sparkling in the
sunlight. stand around the marble cor
ridors and discuss polit cs and the
various city departments. They are not
ofliceholders, nor are they engaged in
mercantile or professional pursuits.
Their ancestors lett no fortunes to any
of them. and they have no visible means
of making a velihood. To the casual
observer it is a source of wonder and
speculation how these men manage to
live on the fat of the land; have their
pockets filled with money, and do no
work. Where do their means come
from? That is one of the standing con-
undrums of the city hall. A few Of
these mysterious individuals have held
office, but the salaries attached thereto
seldom exceeds $1,000 per annum.
Some Of the wire pulling politicians
could relate interesting stories about
the new species of lounger in the city
hall if they saw nit. But they are not
at all kelv to do so. II any one who
frequents the city hall VII take the
trouble to stroll up Broadway from
Twenty-third street to the elise house,
between these Two points. on any fine
evening. he will encounter nearly all the
well-drcssed men who have lounged in
the city hall during the daytime.
Some of them will be in evening dress,
lettering about the entrances to the
hotels as if wa ting for some tardy
friend to keep an appointment, while
others may be observed chatting with
keepers of gambling houses and other
disreputable resorts. An old polite an,
who has seen the ups and downs of
fe but is now out in the cold. chatted
with reporter about these nv sterious
fellows. yesterday, and threw some
/ ght on Their calling. They manage
to dress well and have enough money
in their clothes, because some of the
political W re-pullers in this town are
in their power. Such men are abso-
lutely necessary to the professional pol
it.cian. In politics an honest man has
to wink at II great many queer things.
| don't care how strait-laced he may be,
if he is running for b g Office he has
to act upon the advice Of those wire.
pullers. The gambling-house keepers
AMI proprietorS OF uncomfortable re-
sorts are the power behind the throne
in many districts in tn city. They
never appear on the surface in any
scheme, but the + agents are city-hall
loungerS. lhey are the men VINO
carry messages to the political leaders
or to men who ctate to the leaders
and manipulate for them to their per-
sonal advantage. 1t is int mated that
even the captains of the police IN some
of the prec nets are in the power of
these go-betweens. Why they make
their headquarters in the city hall is
another conundrum. They have only
ben there in their present force for a
few months past. 1t is great change,
indeed to the class of loungerS who in
tested the city hall in times gone by.
When the Offices of the department Of
public works occupied the easterly end
of the hall the men who thronged tho
CORR Tors We're for the most part hard
listed sons of toll looking for work on
the big pipes, After hanging around
for day or two, if their appl cations
met with no favor, they generally dis
appeared and sought for employment
elsewhere. The change is indeed to
la roprattaJ -